Container assembly

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a container assembly. In particular the invention is concerned with a container assembly having separate storing facilities in which different products can be stored. The container comprises a primary container defining a holding compartment, a secondary container locatable inside the holding compartment and a securing formation for securing the secondary container inside the holding compartment. The securing formation includes a gripping formation which can engage an outside wall of the primary container when the secondary container is to be secured inside the holding compartment.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

THIS invention relates to a container assembly. In particular theinvention is concerned with a container assembly having separate storingfacilities in which different products can be stored.

In recent times there has been an increasing awareness of the benefitsof a healthy lifestyle. In particular there has been a drive in USschools to address the high incidence of teenage obesity. One initiativefor addressing obesity is to encourage teenagers to limit the amount ofsoft drinks consumed and to supplement their liquid intake withhealthier alternatives.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a containerassembly which can be used for facilitating preparation and consumptionof health drinks which comprise a vitamin tablet dissolved in water.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided acontainer assembly comprising a primary container defining a holdingcompartment, a secondary container locatable inside the holdingcompartment and a securing formation for securing the secondarycontainer inside the holding compartment, the securing formationincluding a gripping formation which can engage an outside wall of theprimary container when the secondary container is to be secured insidethe holding compartment.

Preferably the secondary container comprises a container body and a lid.Typically the lid is connected to the container body with a hinge.

Advantageously the container body of the secondary container includes adesiccant on its inside.

In an embodiment of the invention the primary container includes adispensing end and a base wherein the holding compartment is locatedtowards the base.

Preferably the secondary container can be held inside the holdingcompartment with the lid of the secondary container being locatedtowards the base of the primary container such that access to the insideof the secondary container can be gained without having to remove thesecondary container from the holding compartment.

Advantageously the lid of the secondary container includes a finger tabfor facilitating opening of the secondary container.

Typically the primary container includes a finger opening allowing auser to access the finger tab.

Preferably the securing formation includes a container engagementformation for holding a portion of the secondary container.

More preferably the container engagement formation is attached to thegripping formation.

In an embodiment of the invention the gripping formation comprises fourarms which extend from the container engagement formation.

Typically the primary container includes a recess formation in itsoutside wall for cooperation with the gripping formation of the securingformation. Preferably the recess formation extends around a portion ofthe outside wall of the primary container.

In an embodiment of the invention the arms of the gripping formation aresized for location inside the recess formation.

Typically the primary container includes a support structure forsupporting the secondary container when it is located inside the holdingcompartment.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda container assembly comprising a primary container defining a holdingcompartment, a secondary container locatable inside the holdingcompartment and a securing formation for securing the secondarycontainer inside the holding compartment, the secondary containercomprising a container body and a lid wherein the lid can be removedfrom the container body while the container body of the secondarycontainer remains located inside the holding compartment.

Preferably the primary container has a base and a dispensing end andwherein the lid of the secondary container is located towards the baseof the primary container.

More preferably the lid is connected to the container body with the useof a hinge.

Advantageously the lid of the secondary container includes a finger tabfor facilitating opening of the secondary container.

Typically the primary container includes a finger opening allowing auser to access the finger tab.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided apackaging assembly comprising a container assembly in accordance witheither the first or the second aspect of the invention wherein awater-soluble substance is stored inside the secondary container.

Typically the water-soluble substance is a water-soluble tablet.

In an embodiment of the invention the water-soluble tablet is aneffervescent tablet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a container assembly inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of the container assembly in anassembled condition;

FIG. 3 shows a bottom perspective view of the container assembly of FIG.2; and

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a securing formation for use in asecond embodiment of the container assembly of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a container assembly inaccordance with the present invention, generally indicated with thereference numeral 10. The container assembly 10 comprises a primarycontainer 12 which defines a holding compartment 14 as shown. Thecontainer assembly 10 further comprises a secondary container 16 whichis suitably sized such that it can be located inside the holdingcompartment 14. In order to secure the secondary container 16 inside theholding compartment 14 the container assembly 10 includes a securingformation 18. The securing formation 18 in turn includes a grippingformation 20 which can engage an outside wall 22 of the primarycontainer 12 when the secondary container 16 is to be secured inside theholding compartment 14. The manner of securement will be describedbelow.

The primary container 12 is shaped as shown with its outside wall 22extending between a dispensing end 24 and a base 26. The dispensing end24 of this embodiment of the invention includes a removable cap 28having a valve 30, shown in FIG. 2, which closes an open end of theprimary container 12. A liquid which is stored inside the primarycontainer 12 can be dispensed under the influence of gravity when thevalve is opened and the container assembly 10 turned upside down.

The base 26 includes two flat base members 32.1 and 32.2 which willallow the primary container to be placed in an upright manner on a flatsurface. A finger opening 34, the purpose of which will be explainedbelow, is provided between the base members 32.1 and 32.2 as shown.

Inside the holding compartment 14 the primary container 12 includes asupport structure 36. The support structure 36 is provided in the formof two support structure members 38.1 and 38.2 which are curve-shaped.As shown in FIG. 1, the secondary container 16 is cylindrical-shaped andthe curvature of the two support structure members 38.1 and 38.2 is suchthat they can support the shape of the secondary container 16.

The primary container 12 is provided with a recess formation 40 whichextends around a portion of the outside wall 22. In use the recessformation 40 will cooperate with the gripping formation 20 for securingthe secondary container 16 inside the holding compartment 14 in a mannerdescribed below.

The secondary container 16 comprises a container body 42 and a lid 44.In this embodiment of the invention the lid 44 is pivotally secured tothe container body 42 with the use of a flexible hinge 46. The secondarycontainer 16 is provided with a finger tab 48 for facilitating openingof the secondary container 16. The finger tab 48, in turn, is providedwith a conventional locking arrangement, generally indicated with thereference numeral 48, for keeping the lid 44 in a closed position on thecontainer body 42.

With a view to ensuring that dissolvable tablets which are stored insidethe secondary container 16 do not dissolve prior to being used, thesecondary container 16 is provided on its inside with a desiccant. Inthis specific embodiment the desiccant is provided in the form of alayer of a desiccant material which lines the inside wall of thecontainer body 48, not shown.

The securing formation 18 includes a container engagement formation 52for holding a portion of the container body 42 of the secondarycontainer 16. It is pointed out that the container engagement formation52 is sized such that it can frictionally engage a portion of an outsidewall of the container body 42. The container engagement formation 52 inturn is connected to the gripping formation 20.

In this embodiment of the invention the gripping formation 20 comprisesfour curved arms 54.1, 54.2, 54.3 and 54.4. Specifically the curved arms51.1, 54.2, 54.3 and 54.4 are shaped such that they can be locatedinside the recess formation 40 and can be held in position in a frictionfit.

The assembled container assembly 10 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In orderto assemble the components of the container assembly 10 as shown in FIG.1, the container body 42 of the secondary container 16 is firstly placedon the support structure 36 inside the holding compartment 14. It isimportant to point out that the secondary container 16 is held insidethe holding compartment 14 in such a manner that the lid 44 is locatedtowards the base 26 of the primary container 12 with the finger tab 48located inside the finger opening 34. The secondary container 16 is nowsecured in position inside the holding compartment 14 when the containerengagement formation 52 frictionally holds a portion of the containerbody 42 while the curved arms 54.1, 54,2, 54.3 and 54.4 of the grippingformation 20 engage the outside wall 22 of the primary container 12inside the recess formation 40, thereby to hold the primary container 12in a friction fit.

It is envisaged that the primary container 12 will typically be filledwith water while the secondary container 16 will hold a supply ofwater-soluble substance such as effervescent tables. A person nowdesirous to prepare an effervescent drink can simply remove a tablet byopening the secondary container access by gripping the finger tab 48 andflipping the lid 44 open. It will be appreciated that by having a fingeropening 34 as described, a finger of a user can easily engage the fingertab 48 and the process of opening the secondary container 16 takes placewith relative ease. Once the secondary container 16 is closed, the cap28 can be removed momentarily so that the tablet can be dropped into theliquid held by the primary container 12 in order to be dissolved.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative securing formation, generally indicated withthe reference numeral 60, for use in a container assembly in accordancewith present invention. The securing formation 60 differs from thesecuring formation 18 in that its gripping formation 62 is provided inthe form of two rubber bands 64.1 and 64.2 which can extend around thecircumference of a primary container. In particular the bands 64.1 and64.2 each include an attachment formation 66 whereby the bands 61.1 and64.2 can be secured to form a closed loop. In this embodiment of theinvention the attachment formation is provided in the form of a numberof protrusions 68 which can be held in suitably sized cavities 70.

The securing formation 60 also includes a container engagementformation, here indicated with the reference numeral 72. Unlike thecontainer engagement formation 52 of the securing formation 18, thecontainer engagement formation 72 is adorned with promotionalinformation 74.

Although not illustrated in the accompany drawings it is envisaged thatthe securing formation and the primary container could be of unitaryconstruction to define a holding compartment which can hold a secondarycontainer in a friction fit.

It is also envisaged that the container assembly need not necessarilyinclude a securing formation but that the primary container could simplyinclude a holding compartment which is defined by outer surfaces of theprimary container. The secondary container can then be secured insidethe holding compartment by providing a friction fit or a force fitbetween the walls of the primary container defining the holdingformation as well as outer surfaces of the secondary container.

It is finally envisaged that the securing formation could also beprovided in the form of a layer of an adhesive, typically in the form ofglue.

The container assembly as described above will make it convenient totransport an empty container with a supply of water-soluble tablets.When a user is now desirous to consume a drink, the primary containercan be filled with water whereafter a tablet can be removed from thesecondary container and dropped into the liquid to dissolve and form thedrink.

1. A container assembly comprising: a primary container defining aholding compartment, a secondary container locatable inside the holdingcompartment; and a securing formation for securing the secondarycontainer inside the holding compartment, the securing formationincluding a gripping formation adapted to engage an outside wall of theprimary container when the secondary container is to be secured insidethe holding compartment.
 2. The container assembly of claim 1 whereinthe secondary container comprises a container body and a lid.
 3. Thecontainer assembly of claim 2 wherein the lid is connected to thecontainer body by way of a hinge.
 4. The container assembly of claim 2wherein the lid includes a finger tab for opening the lid.
 5. Thecontainer assembly according to claim 1 wherein the secondary containerincludes a desiccant.
 6. The container assembly of claim 1 wherein theprimary container includes a dispensing end and a base, wherein theholding compartment is located towards the base.
 7. The containerassembly of claim 6 wherein the secondary container is receivable insidethe holding compartment with the lid of the secondary container beinglocated towards the base of the primary container in order for access tothe inside of the secondary container to be gained without having toremove the secondary container from the holding compartment.
 8. Thecontainer assembly of claim 7 wherein the lid includes a finger tab foropening the lid.
 9. The container assembly of claim 8 wherein theprimary container includes a finger opening allowing a user to accessthe finger tab.
 10. The container assembly of claim 1 wherein thesecuring formation includes a container engagement formation for holdinga portion of the secondary container.
 11. The container assembly ofclaim 10 wherein the gripping formation extends from the containerengagement formation.
 12. The container assembly of claim 11 wherein thegripping formation comprises four resilient arms which extend from thecontainer engagement formation.
 13. The container assembly of claim 12wherein the primary container includes at least one recess formation inits outside wall for complementary cooperation with the at least onegripping formation of the securing formation.
 14. The container assemblyof claim 1 wherein the primary container includes a support structurefor supporting the secondary container when it is located inside theholding compartment.
 15. A container assembly comprising: a primarycontainer defining a holding compartment, a secondary containerlocatable inside the holding compartment; and a securing formation forsecuring the secondary container inside the holding compartment, thesecondary container comprising a container body and a lid wherein thelid can be removed from the container body while the container body ofthe secondary container remains located inside the holding compartment.16. The container assembly of claim 15 wherein the primary container hasa base and a dispensing end, the lid of the secondary container beinglocated towards the base of the primary container.
 17. The containerassembly of claim 16 wherein the lid is connected to the container bodyby way of a hinge.
 18. The container assembly of claim 16 wherein thelid of the secondary container includes a finger tab for facilitatingopening of the secondary container.
 19. The container assembly of claim18 wherein the primary container includes a finger opening allowing auser to access the finger tab of the lid of the secondary container. 20.A packaging assembly comprising a container assembly in accordance withclaim 1 wherein a water-soluble substance is stored inside the secondarycontainer.
 21. A packaging assembly comprising a container assembly inaccordance with claim 1 wherein a water-soluble tablet is stored insidethe secondary container.
 22. A packaging assembly comprising a containerassembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein a effervescent tablet isstored inside the secondary container.